For manufacturing a cavity structure in a MEMS (microelectromechanical system) or a NEMS (nanoelectromechanical system) typically one or more sacrificial layers are used for defining a cavity, such as a cavity between two membranes or between a membrane and a counter electrode. The one or more sacrificial layers are then removed again by means of etching processes during the subsequent manufacturing process. The material used for the sacrificial layer for cavity definition is, for example, deposited silicon oxide. The deposited silicon oxide is removed from the cavity in subsequent process steps in a relatively elaborate manner by means of wet chemical etching processes. When performing the chemical wet etching processes, residues (e.g., drying residues) may remain within the cavity or between the two membranes. Such residues may negatively influence the electrical and/or mechanical properties of a component with respect to its functionality (e.g., reliability problems) or lead to failure of the component.
A sacrificial layer may be subject to shrinkage occurring during process steps subsequent to the deposition of the sacrificial layer. The shrinkage of the sacrificial layer has to be taken into account when designing a MEMS or NEMS manufacturing process. The shrinkage of the sacrificial layer may even have an influence on the design of the MEMS or NEMS component and may even oblige a component designer to strike a compromise between component performance and manufacturability.